This is more than just phenomenal consciousness4 (which may be a watershed in itself with moral consequences greater than are generally accepted) but the consciousness of oneself as a self5 (as Locke6 noted).

But we need also consider the view that this “watcher” is an illusion, a falsely-assumed Cartesian Ego7 whose existence is undermined by neuroscience, the modularity of mind, and such-like.